


Thalassophobia

by writing_and_procrastinating



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 22:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15082853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_and_procrastinating/pseuds/writing_and_procrastinating





	Thalassophobia

The case was supposed to be pretty easy, you had found out who the UnSub was relatively quickly and due to Garcia’s phenomenal hacking skills, you were on your way to his house after only several short moments. Even though you were surrounded by your colleagues, all good friends of yours, you couldn’t help but let anxiety creep its way up your spine. Just the thought of where you were driving to caused your hands to shake, a thin layer of cold sweat covering your body. A lake house. The UnSub had to live in a lake house, far away from any sort of civilisation which obviously made sense but it didn’t help lessen your fear. You had never learned how to swim, which didn’t embarrass you that much, it was the fact that you were deeply terrified of all bodies of water that caused a rush of shame to flow through you. Your fear was caused by a traumatic experience in your childhood which involved you nearly drowning in your own backyard, you knew that your feelings were completely valid but still, you couldn’t help but feel ashamed. As an FBI agent, you were supposed to be brave and strong, not be afraid of lakes, seas or rivers.  
“Everyone, get ready,” Emily’s voice sounded from the front as she pulled into the bay area, the last rays of sunlight illuminating your surroundings, showing you the old, run-down cabin with small wooden bridges leading to and away from it. Wearily you exited the SUV, making sure you had your gun ready and your vest sitting right before you followed your close friend Matt onto one of the planks leading to the cabin.  
“You alright there, (Y/N)?” he asked, worry clear in his voice as he looked back to you.  
“I’m fine. Let’s go and catch this son of a bitch,” you tried to convince him and mostly yourself as you continued walking over the wobbly catwalk.

Only a few minutes later you were chasing the UnSub after he managed to flee from his house. Unfortunately, he made his way towards the seemingly endless docks surrounding his shack which he knew like the back of his hand, knowing where the stable planks where and which to avoid. Behind you, you could hear JJ losing her footing, causing her to fall into one of the many boats but you tried to ignore the rest of your team as best as you could, taking the exact same steps as the man that ran away from you which helped you stay on the small catwalks, slowly managing to catch up with him.  
“Joshua Grimes, drop your weapon!” you shouted after you somehow ended up driving him into a dead-end. Joshua turned around, his eyes straying away from your flashlight that you had to turn on as it was now nearly completely dark outside. Before you could react he dashed forward, pushing you aside and running past you. The push caused you to lose your balance, step on a weak plank which gave out underneath your weight, breaking apart before cold water surrounded you. Everything around you was dark, you couldn’t hear a single thing and the thought of what could be in these waters made you panic even more. You wanted to move, needed to move, swim towards the surface but you couldn’t move. It was like your body was paralysed, your mind completely blank as you floated in the ice cold water around you. Your lungs were burning as oxygen was running lower and lower and you were ready to give in and let the water stream into your body. Slowly you felt yourself passing out, your eyes blinking as you fought, trying to stay awake but it was no good. The last thing you saw was a flashlight appear on the dock above you, a body jumping into the water before your body gave out.

Bright lights were shining into your eyes, sirens sounding far away when you woke up again, immediately sitting up as water spluttered out of your mouth, your throat feeling like it was set on fire which was a drastic contrast to how freezing cold the rest of your body felt. A jacket was draped around your shoulders, the smell of a familiar cologne engulfing you as your eyes adjusted to the light. You could hear people running in your direction, yelling your name as you looked to the side, seeing a panting Matt Simmons sitting next to you, clothes as drenched as yours but nowhere close to shaking as much as you did, looking like a leaf in a chilly autumn breeze. All that left your mouth was violent coughing as you wanted to thank your friend, colleague and man you fell in love with, his arms wrapping around you after he saw the tears that had collected in your eyes rolling down your face to join the droplets of water that covered your entire body.  
“I got you, you’re okay,” Matt whispered in your ear, his hands rubbing your back as sobs shook your freezing body even more. The paramedics and the rest of the team soon reached you, escorting you back onto firm ground before checking your pulse and putting several blankets over you to raise your body heat to normal again, doing the same to Matt after they were sure you were stable.  
“What happened, (Y/N)? Why didn’t you swim upwards?” Matt asked with a concerned look on his face after the paramedics made sure he was fine.  
“I…I’m scared of deep waters like lakes and stuff and…a-and I can’t swim.” You cast your eyes down on the muddy ground below your feet, embarrassment taking over.  
“Hey, look at me”- you shook your head, too stubborn to do as he said before he placed his fingers under your chin and lifted up your face -“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, you hear me? You can’t be perfect at everything and being afraid of something is normal, it’s what makes us human. If it makes you feel any better, I could offer to teach you how to swim, I got a pool in my yard.” He smiled softly at you, his lips slightly blue from the cold air, his hair damp, clinging onto his forehead.  
“I’d love that,” you mumbled, a smile spreading over your face at the idea of Matt teaching you how to swim.  
“Great, we’ll start as soon as we get back to Quantico so you got no time to make up any excuses. It’s summer, the weather is perfect there, there’s no better time to start than now.” You chuckled at his enthusiasm, your body slowly heating up again as Matt sat down beside you, the rest of the team slowly, one by one, joining you, joking around and talking complete nonsense. Matt’s arm wrapped around your shoulders, pressing your body closer to his’ while you listened to Rossi telling you a story about his wild youth.


End file.
